Alcatraz Outlaws boys lacrosse club puts players in front of top-level college coaches

When the ALCATRAZ Outlaws were formed in 2009, the goal for coaches Dave Grose, Greg Angilly and Braden Edwards was to give top-level Northern California high school lacrosse players a chance to show top-level college coaches that they can play.

Little did those coaches know that their first team would take the lacrosse world by storm. The Marin-based club squad made a splash from the outset, winning a title in its first tournament ever — with a little bit of help from the weather.

Playing in the King of the Hill tournament in Pennsylvania, the Outlaws rebounded from an opening-game loss to win five in a row to earn a berth in the championship. And there, lightning struck for the team.

"We played in the final in a torrential rain storm and we went up by five goals," said Grose, who is also the Redwood High boys coach. "Then the other team started coming back in a terrible way. It was one of those things where you can kind of tell that the other team was going to catch you. And then lightning hit somewhere and the horn sounded and they canceled the rest of the game so we ended up winning the tournament.

"There were probably 100 coaches lining the sidelines watching our kids. Needless to say, we got what we wanted. The kids got the exposure they wanted yet no one really knew who the heck we were."

From that first experience, the club — whose roster typically is a mix of players from Marin, the South Bay, the East Bay and San Francisco — has been a success both in terms of its play and its ability to find college programs interested in its players. The team has held its own in tournaments since that opener, and to date, 56 current or former players are part of or have committed to college squads. Of that group, 37 players found Division I programs at which to play.

Among that group is Ross native Bear Mistele, a University High graduate who is now playing at Navy.

"It was a whole new experience, especially for California," Mistele said of his time with the Outlaws, which included that first tournament title. "There was more concentrated talent than you're ever used to playing with. And the coaches were three of the best in the area. So you could do things with that team and the level of lacrosse that you could never do in high school. It was a unique experience and they did a great job of picking the rosters."

The Outlaws, who train at the Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, have relatively little time with which to make their mark. The team, which is hand-picked by the coaches after they scout players who show an interest in playing, works together for only three weeks beginning in early June. The Outlaws then head East to play in the King of the Hill and then the Gait Cup at Gettysburg (Pa.) College. By July, the players go their separate ways.

But that time together and the exposure to high caliber players and college coaches is invaluable, players say.

"It's awesome," said Marin Catholic junior Chris Hill, who credits playing for the Outlaws last summer with helping him catch the eyes of the coaches at Navy, where he will play after graduating from high school. "It's a great experience and every time you practice, you're getting better because everyone you go against is as good or better than you so you're always pushing yourself to get better. Then you go back East and play in these tournaments against kids from Maryland and upstate New York and all these (lacrosse) hotbeds, so it's awesome. It's a great way to get out of our California or Marin County style of play and see what lacrosse is all about."

The players say, however, that they are ready for those tournaments thanks to the coaching of Grose, Angilly and Edwards.

"There's no better coaches than those three guys," Mistele said. "They can give pointers and set you off on the right track. And then, as a California team, we were able to step out of the shadows. To see those kind of (college) coaches there "... I just recognized the faces; Dave Pietramala is a Johns Hopkins legend and to see his face was amazing. When you come from the West Coast, you just don't get any exposure to those kinds of guys. And they're all kind of excited to find the new best thing, and I think the West Coast is — it sounds like a cliché — but it's that untapped gold mine."

The Outlaws have produced enough nuggets that the program has expanded its operations. This summer, the Outlaws have two teams, with one featuring rising seniors (Class of 2014 players who are juniors this year) and the other including rising juniors (Class of 2015).

It is from these ranks that players hope to follow the path of many of their predecessors.

"I think there's a talent level in the Bay Area that is rising," Grose said. "Last year we expanded to two teams and we won another tournament. Our younger guys went to two final fours and our older guys won the Gait Cup, so it was another incredibly successful year. The main thing we're trying to do is allow guys to get the opportunity to get college looks by coaches we've met through this process and then go out and advocate for these kids during the season and then during the summer and really help them find opportunities to play. And we've been really successful at it."